Crackdown against adulterated agriculture medicines directed

Provincial Minister for Agriculture Dr Farrukh Javed has directed all district co-ordination officers, senior officers of Agriculture Department, pesticide and fertiliser inspectors to accelerate crackdown for ensuring complete eradication of adulteration in pesticides and fertilisers and bringing the ratio of adulteration to zero.

He directed that strict action should be taken as per law against the persons involved in heinous crime of adulteration in agri medicines. He said that adulteration in pesticides will be completely eliminated in accordance with the vision of the Chief Minister Punjab.

He expressed these views while reviewing progress of crackdown continuing against spurious agri medicines throughout the province. It was told that teams of Agriculture Department Extension and Plant Protection Punjab are active to ensure provision of quality pesticides and fertiliser to the farmers.

He said that strict action is being taken against the mafia involved in the business of spurious and substandard agri medicines and fertilisers.

He said that teams of Agriculture Department accompanied by administration and local police recovered spurious pesticides on a large scale by conducting raid in Sialkot, Faisalabad and Gujranwala and the persons involved in this heinous crime have been handed over to police. He said that after successful raid in Sialkot, 620 bottles of spurious liquid fertiliser worth Rs 8 million were taken into possession and an FIR was registered against regional manager of the company Syed Tanvir Shah. After successful raid in Faisalabad, a factory involved in manufacturing of spurious SSP, DAP and other fertilisers was booked and five persons were arrested on the spot besides material used in spurious fertilisers were confiscated. The teams of Agriculture Department took samples of spurious fertilisers into possession from Sialkot and Faisalabad and sent to fertiliser laboratory for chemical analysis.